Education Support Professionals
We're NEA ESPs and Proud of It!
Children nutrition bill passes with bipartisan support
The U.S. House of Representative’s Committee on Education and Labor July 15 passed H.R. 5504, the Improving the Nutrition of America’s Children Act. bipartisan vote of 32 to 13. The bill passed on a 32 to 13 bipartisan vote.
The goal of the bill is to improve child nutrition and address both hunger and obesity by providing students with the tools to live healthy lives. The bill’s provisions include modernizing and expanding current food programs and introducing new programs to better meet the nutritional needs of children ranging from infants to school-age children.
This legislation would also improve school food safety; provide direct certification for children receiving Medicaid benefits; offer year round pilot feeding programs; increase rural access to the Summer Food Service Program; expand the afterschool meals program; provide nutrition education; provide grants to purchase new equipment; create nutrition standards for school meals; and implement many other new programs and expansions. Significantly, the bill also provides for a 6 cent increase in reimbursement per school meal.
Chairman Miller started the two day hearing markup by saying “In a country as great as ours, no child should go hungry. This legislation gives us a real opportunity to make dramatic reforms to help prevent hunger, to improve children’s health and increase access to healthy meals. The health and academic success of an entire generation of children is at stake.”
Testifying in support of the bill were Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and First Lady Michelle Obama, among others. During markup, 15 amendments were adopted that enhanced the bill. Amendments adopted include an organic food pilot program, a passage allowing schools to donate food to food banks, and priority to SIG-eligible schools in school breakfast expansion programs.
There was no mention of offsets or a timeline for full House consideration. For more information including a list of the amendments, visit http://edlabor.house.gov/markups/2010/07/hr-5504-improving-nutrition-fo.shtml.
Stay tuned for the next round of action as this bill moves to the House floor.
Members attending the hearing included: Chairman George Miller (D-CA); Ranking Member John Kline (R-MN); Representatives Dale Kildee (D-MI); Donald Payne (D-NJ); Rob Andrews (D-NJ); Lynn Woolsey (D-CA); John Tierney (D-MA); Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY); Dennis Kucinich (D-OH); David Wu (D-OR); Rush Holt (D-NJ); Susan Davis (D-CA); Timothy Bishop (D-NY); Joe Sestak (D-PA); David Loebsack (D-IA); Mazie Hirono (D-HI); Jason Altmire (D-PA); Phil Hare (D-IL); Yvette Clarke (D-NY); Joe Courtney (D-CT); Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH); Marcia Fudge (D-OH); Jared Polis (D-CO); Paul Tonko (D-NY); Pedro Pierluisi (D-PR); Gregorio Sablan (D- Mariana Islands); Dina Titus (D-NV); Judy Chu (D-CA); Tom Petri (R-WI); Howard McKeon (R-CA); Michael Castle (R-DE); Mark Souder (R-IN); Vern Ehlers (R-MI); Judy Biggert (R-IL); Todd Platts (R-PA); Joe Wilson (R-SC);Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA); Tom Price (R-GA); Rob Bishop (R-UT); Brett Guthrie (R-KY); Bill Cassidy (R-LA); Tom McClintock (R-CA); Bill Cassidy (R-LA); Duncan Hunter (R-CA); Glenn Thompson (R-PA); and David Roe (R-TN).
Resources:
- Letter to the House Ed & Labor Committee on the Child Nutrition Mark-up
- NEA fact sheet on child nutrition
- NEA Letter to the Senate Agriculture Committee on the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010
- Letter to the House Ed and Labor Committee on Child Nutrition Reauthorization
- Text of the House Bill (PDF)
- Recording of House Education and Labor Committee Hearing (July)
- "Lunchroom Bounty: Serving up school nutrition programs to solve the hunger problem" by Meg Krugel of the Oregon Education Association
Contact Shilpa Reddy of NEA Government Relations for more information.
Highlights:
- Education Support Professionals Learn New Ways to Boost Kids’ Nutrition
- Apply or nominate a custodian for the 2011 C.L.E.A.N. Awards. Deadline: December 1.
- Cafeteria Workers the Latest Victims of Turnaround Model
- Visit NEA's Education Votes for information on education and politics
- Setting the Record Straight: Debunking Six Myths about the Financial Crisis Facing Public Education
-
2010 New Jersey ESP of the Year Speech
Anne Christiansen Has Passion for Advocacy - Survey sheds light on student success Parental involvement, resources are key
-
Taking it to the People
The impact of lost ESP jobs was detailed in a full-page newspaper article. - When Support Professionals Are Laid Off: Their Colleagues’ Stories
- When Support Professionals Are Laid Off: Their Story
- VIDEO: NEA Launches Jobs Campaign
- Questions the Media Should Be Asking About Education
-
Keeper of the Flame
ESP Heike Janis was elected president of her inclusive local with strong teacher support. -
NEA, White House Work to End Childhood Obesity
- News briefs about ESPs work life and issues from NEA Collective Bargaining & Member Advocacy
- Education Support Professionals' Jobs at Risk
- "Fuel Up to Play 60" encourages school teams to make real changes in their eating and physical activity habits.
- Job crisis hitting all education workers
- Home Alone
- The Yakima (Wash.) Story: These Are the Stories of Yakima Paraeducators
- Bainbridge Island Education Support Professionals: An Educational Value
-
We Need to Advocate for Ourselves
Lack of Activism by Educators May Have Hurt School Districts - News briefs about ESPs work life and issues from NEA Collective Bargaining and Member Advocacy
- VIDEO: Highlights from the 2010 ESP Conference
-
Pizza for Breakfast No More
New Legislation Would Allow Schools to Provide Healthier Fare for Students - Indiana Custodian Wins CLEAN Award for Promoting Public Health
-
NEA ESP Leaders for Tomorrow Overview and Guidelines
NEW! The application deadline has been extended to April 16, 2010. -
2010 ESP of the Year
Kentucky school bus driver Helen Cottongim won NEA's highest honor for Education Support Professionals. -
House Passes H.R. 2377 to Nationally Recognize Classified School Employees
10/7/2009
On March 15, 2010 the U.S. House of Representatives, by a huge voice vote, passed H.R. 2377, a bill that will create an award to nationally recognize classified school employees – the workers who do most of the support work for our students. -
One for All
Perspective at School Helps Educators See the Big Picture -
White House and NEA Tackle Childhood Obesity
-
National Spotlight Shines on Support Staff
VIDEO: Rhode Island Support Professionals Host U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
About Education Support Professionals
NEA's Education Support Professional (ESP) members, one-half million and growing, take care of our children every day and make sure they have the tools they need to succeed in our schools and classrooms. We are the...
- school bus driver who greets your child with a warm "hello" and delivers him safely to school
- cafeteria worker who gives your daughter a warm, healthy meal
- paraeducator who provides your child with a little extra help in the classroom
- school nurse who comforts your sick child
- office assistant who makes sure your son's records are up to date
- technician who wires the classroom computers
- custodian who works to keep schools clean
- security professional who helps keep students safe.
We make up more than 40 percent of the total K-12 education workforce. We are a critically important part of the school community. Learn more about what we do in ESP Jobs.
We directly affect student learning.
-
In Bucks County, Pennsylvania, the bus drivers in the Pennsbury School District link bus safety activities with the language arts and social studies curriculum for kindergartners.
- In Broward County, Florida, paraprofessionals supervise and train students to run a peace center where they learn peer mediation.
- Reeths-Puffer, Michigan, food-service staff teach nutrition to student and parent groups and provide tasty, economical catering for staff parties.
- A custodian in Topsham, Maine, counsels elementary school teachers on selecting safe classroom materials.
We bring years of experience to our jobs.
- On average, K-12 ESP members have nearly 11 years of experience in education support work.
We are dedicated to students and schools.
- Nearly 95 percent of K-12 ESPs surveyed in 1997 said they planned to stay in education.test
We have strong ties to the community. Nearly 80 percent of us...
-
volunteer time to community organizations or activities
- live in the school districts where we work
We've put together this ESP section of the National Education Association's Web site to help parents, community members, and other educators gain a better understanding of Education Support Professionals, and to provide resources that will help ESP's meet today's challenges and do our jobs better. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, please send us an e-mail.test
Save the dates
NEA ESP 2011 Conference, March 11-13, Hilton Washington Hotel, Washington, DC
2011 ESP National Conference Call for Presenters. Submission deadline: August 15, 2010.
Every education worker has a role in ending child hunger
The following story from the Oregon Education Association prize winning Today’s OEA is an in-depth look at how proper meals and nutrition are an integral part of a student’s life and education. “The lunchroom can be the great equalizer in public education” and this story explores how hunger and well balanced meals can make a difference in ensuring a student is well-fed, and thus best equipped, to learn. Providing healthy meals to millions of students across the country is just one of the many jobs of food service professionals.
How ESPs do that job is something Cindy Long, a writer for NEA Today, is looking to write about. She is working on a story about federal funding that could be used for food service professionals to be trained in healthy food prep techniques. If you are an ESP food service worker willing to talk about the importance of this training and how you and your co-workers are preparing healthy meals for students, write to Cindy at clong@nea.org.
- NEA ESP Leaders for Tomorrow Overview and Guidelines
- National Council for Education Support Professionals (NCESP)
- Key facts about NEA's ESP members
- ESP Jobs
- ESPs: Why Join NEA?
- The ESP Quality Department
- ESP Members of the NEA Board
- The ESP E-mail List
Highlights from 2010 Annual ESP Conference
2010 C.L.E.A.N.® Awards Recognize Custodians' Contributions to Public Health
2010 NEA ESP of the Year
Meet Helen Cottongim, a Kentucky school bus driver and winner of our highest honor for support professionals.
Video
A Day Without Education Support Professionals (ESP)
See for yourself how important every education support professional is to the daily lives of our students and our schools. This poignant video illustrates the value of our work on so many levels. It was produced by Indiana member Mary Neylon.
Video
Education Support Professionals Day
NEA Executive Committee Member Paula Monroe tells the story of ‘Education Support Professional of the Year’ Kathie Axtell.
ESP Day 2009
Radio Interviews
Article
Video
- Secretary of Education and NEA President celebrate Education Support Professionals Day - With a visit to John Adams Elementary School in Alexandria, Virginia.
Dave Arnold: This school custodian and former Illinois Education Association ESP of the Year is a published poet. But most Association members know him best from the editorials -- Dave's View --


